Q&A: Angels, Physics, and Wings

Disregarding the physics of it, how do you think the ability of an ‘angel’ ( basically a human with wings in this case ) to fly would influence their fighting style? Would it be an advantage, or a hindrance, you think?

This is a bit like asking, “disregarding their ability to move, what’s the fastest car?”

Physics is a critical component of hand to hand combat. Things like momentum and leverage are what you use in a fight to harm your opponent. Techniques are just the way you apply the laws of physics to your opponent.

A more reasonable example of this is if you’ve got an angry, 200lb, bird man who can take flight at will. They can land on the exact spot they want, because they’ve been doing this for their entire life. They drop on someone, and it’s over. This is part of why the physics are so important. The amount of force they apply on landing is a direct result their mass and velocity. Without physics, there’s no grounding element, no limits, and no way to reasonably predict the limits.

That said, there are huge problems. On the ground, a winged human would be at a combat disadvantage. There’s a lot of very fragile tissue on their back which is vulnerable in melee, and can’t be fully shielded by the fighter’s body. You can’t really armor it without making the wings non-functional, and if you’re emulating birds (which seems likely), you’re looking at hollow bones, which will never heal properly from being crushed. At range, they’d make the character a larger target. You don’t need to hit a normal human sized target, just clip their wing.

The only way to get around these disadvantages is to veer into the overtly supernatural. If the wings are conjured when need and otherwise don’t exist, then getting in the way wouldn’t be an issue. If they were somehow immune to harm that would still have the mobility issues on the ground, but at least they’d be less of a liability.

You started with, “angels,” and then backed off of it onto normal humans. It’s worth pointing out that if you’re wanting to work with the idea of angels as supernatural creatures, then being able to disregard the laws of physics at a whim isn’t that far out there. As they exist in religious texts angels (or whatever your preferred term for them is; the general concept of divine messengers is nearly universal in religion) are more akin to cosmic horrors than Roma Downy standing under a key light. So that’s a situation where I would say, “ignoring physics,” is entirely legitimate, and the results can be suitably gory.